Thursday 9 August 2018

The Great Sea Dragon Discovery by Pippa Goodhart

Synopsis (from Goodreads

Pages: 272
Publisher: Catnip 
Released: 5th of July 2018

Cambridge, 1860

Would a plant drink ink as happily as it would drink water? Is there anything that eats a cat? How did any spider know how to make such a perfect sticky net for catching flies?

Bill’s head is full of questions and it always seems to get him into trouble. Especially when one of his experiments causes his father to lose his job. Bill gets a bit of money for his family selling interesting fossils he has found.

But it’s not much – and then someone else needs his help and fast.

And it just so happens that Bill has discovered something – something that could be the answer to his problems. But for the rest of the world, it is something that questions everything…

What I Have to Say 

This book had a lot more going on in it that the blurb suggests. And the blurb is pretty exciting to begin with. There's a lot hidden beneath the surface of both Bill's hometown and his family just waiting to be uncovered as things begin to change. 

I loved how sciencey it was despite Bill's class and time period basically meaning that he doesn't know what a scientist is and that it's a real job, it is undoubtedly what he is. From the moment he puts a daisy in his teacher's inkwell to see what will happen to it, the reader is let in on his scientific mindset and given the perfect glimpse of who he is. Or one layer of it anyway. 

I also really liked the way it showed how kids can internalise things so easily. How when parents call their child bad, the child starts to believe it, no matter how good his intentions are. It's an important point to make and I kind of wish they'd done more to challenge that believe in him. 

Definitely a good read for anyone interested in science and history. 


My thanks go to Catnip for providing me with this copy for review. 

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